A restricting member includes a blade portion and a supporting portion. A contact portion is provided at the blade portion, and, in a cross section orthogonal to a longitudinal direction, the contact portion includes a first portion extending in a first direction and a second portion extending toward a free end from an end of the first portion and extending in a second direction. When a region demarcated by connecting an intersection point, the end of the first portion, and an end of the second portion by a straight line is defined as a first region, the intersection point being where an imaginary line intersects an extension line of the first portion in the first direction, an area of the first region is smaller on a longitudinal end portion than on a longitudinal central portion of the blade portion.

A cleaning apparatus includes an endless belt configured to bear a toner image, a rotary member configured to be wound around by the belt, and configured to rotate integrally with the belt, a bearing configured to rotatably support the rotary member, a cleaning unit configured to come into contact with a surface of the belt and collect an adhering matter adhered onto the surface, an urging member configured to urge the cleaning unit toward the surface of the belt, and a support member configured from a single member and including a first supporting portion, a second supporting portion, and a third supporting portion. The first supporting portion rotatably supports the belt via the bearing and the rotary member. The second supporting portion pivotably supports the cleaning unit. The third supporting portion supports the urging member.

The present invention is aimed at providing an electrophotographic cleaning blade that has excellent chipping resistance and can exhibit excellent cleaning performance. This cleaning blade is provided with an elastic member that includes a polyurethane and a support member that supports the elastic member, and cleans the surface of a member to be cleaned that is moving, by bringing a part of the elastic member into contact with the surface of the member to be cleaned. The average value of the elastic modulus of the elastic member obtained when measured using SPM is at least 15 MPa and not more than 470 MPa, and the coefficient of variation thereof is not more than 6.0%.

A waste toner transport unit includes a waste toner transport path through which waste toner removed from a circumferential surface of an image carrier is transported, a transport member that transports the waste toner along the waste toner transport path, and a movement restrictor that restricts the movement of the waste toner in a process of waste toner transportation. The waste toner transport path includes an area in which an inner bottom surface is inclined and the area constitutes the movement restrictor. The transport member is disposed such that a rotation shaft extends along the inclined inner bottom surface.

An image forming apparatus includes a potential applier, a cleaning device and a hardware processor. The cleaning device includes an abutting member abutting a surface of the image carrier and removes residual toner on the surface of the image carrier by means of the abutting member after a toner image formed on the surface of the image carrier is transferred to a transfer material. In a cleaning mode for removing a foreign matter attached to the abutting member of the cleaning device, the hardware processor controls the potential applier to alternately apply a first potential and a second potential which is lower than the first potential to the image carrier so as to periodically change a potential of the abutting member without causing saturation.

The present disclosure provides a cleaning blade (2) that prevents toner from slipping through the cleaning blade in a long time use. The cleaning blade (2) is used to remove residual toner remaining on a surface of a counterpart member (1) in an electrophotographic image forming device by sliding contact with the counterpart member (1). The cleaning blade (2) includes a support (3) including a plate-shaped portion (31); and a blade part (4) made of polyurethane, and joined to the plate-shaped portion (31) in integral forming. The blade part (4) includes a plate-shaped blade body portion (41) that is joined to a plate surface of the plate-shaped portion (31), and a reinforcing portion (42) that extends from a surface of the blade body portion (41) and is joined to a front end face of the plate-shaped portion (31). The reinforcing portion (42) has a curved surface (421) that curves inward.

Provided is an image forming apparatus, including: image forming units arranged side by side, each image forming unit having: a developing device forming a toner image; a magnetic permeability sensor detecting a toner density of a developer in the developing device; and a cleaning unit having a cleaning member which removes a toner remaining on an image bearing member, and a conductive support member which supports the cleaning member; an intermediate transfer member bearing the toner image; and a conductive member facing the magnetic permeability sensor of one image forming unit of the image forming units positioned most upstream and arranged upstream of the one image forming unit, wherein the developing device of one of adjacent image forming units is opposed to the cleaning unit of another one which is arranged downstream and is next to the developing device of the one of the adjacent image forming units.

Provided is a cleaning blade disposed to be in contact with an image carrying belt having an elastic layer for removing foreign material from a surface of the image carrying belt, including: a base; and an amorphous coating layer on the base, the coating layer including a contact portion disposed to be in contact with the image carrying belt, wherein the contact portion is curved to have a predetermined curvature with respect to a direction of a movement of the image carrying belt.

A cleaning device scrapes off and removes toner that has adhered to a surface of a rotating photoreceptor, and includes: a cleaning member formed of an elastic body; a leaf spring member for pressing the cleaning member against the surface of the photoreceptor; and a support portion supporting the leaf spring member. The cleaning member is fixed to one end of the leaf spring member, and the other end of the leaf spring member is fixed to the support portion with a cushioning member formed of an elastic body interposed therebetween. The cushioning member is fixed to the other end of the leaf spring member by an adhesive.

An external additive for toner, wherein the external additive is an organosilicon polymer particle, and defining A (nm) as the number-average particle diameter of primary particles of the external additive measured using a scanning electron microscope, and defining B (nm) as the number-average particle diameter of the external additive measured in accordance with a centrifugal sedimentation method, the A and the B satisfy a following Expression (1):

1.5≤B/A≤3.0  (1).